1. Field of the Invention
The following disclosure relates generally to an apparatus, method, system, computer program and product, each capable of detecting a state of an apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
Image forming apparatuses often need regular maintenance, inspection, or replacement of some of their devices to produce high quality images. For this reason, a provider of the apparatuses (“the service provider”) sends a service person to the user's site on a regular basis to inspect an image forming apparatus. However, it has been difficult to determine an appropriate timing for sending the service person.
To help determine the appropriate timing, recent image forming apparatuses have been provided with the function of determining their current state, for example as described in any one of the JP Patent Application Publication Nos. 2003-241448, H05-281809, H05-100517, H07-36323, H07-104616, 2001-356655, 2000-270141, H08-137344, 2000-89623, and H08-30152. When the current state indicates that the apparatus needs maintenance, replacement, or inspection, the service provider sends the service person to the user's site.
However, the user may still need to call a service provider at other times, when the apparatus has an error, for example a paper jam, due to various reasons that may not be predictable. In such a case, the user may not be able to use the apparatus until the apparatus is fixed. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 1, the service person may periodically visit for maintenance, replacement, or inspection at the timing TM1. However, when the error occurs at the timing TE1, the service person may need to visit two times, since the service person may not be able to fix the apparatus without knowing the cause of the error.
In another example, as illustrated in FIG. 2, if the service provider is to send the service person based on the state of the apparatus, the overall number of visits may increase since the state of the apparatus may be changed due to a plurality of devices incorporated in the apparatus. Referring to FIG. 2, the service person visits for maintenance, replacement, or inspection of a first device at the timing TM1. The service person visits for maintenance, replacement, or inspection of a second device at the timing TM2. The service person visits for maintenance, replacement, or inspection of a third device at the timing TM3.